Back Home

I have now been back in the USA for one week. From Tuesday through Saturday, I was at North Litchfield with my family and good friends. It was a nice transition period as I was able to relax on the beach and share stories with those around me.

However I think it will take me a while to fully adjust back to life in the "Land of Plenty." While at the beach, I went to CVS to have pictures from the whitewater rafting trip developed. While there, I went to get shampoo and conditioner. This process took a long time as I was floored by the aisle of options. I mean, is there really a true difference between types of shampoo? Or it is just the bottle and good marketing? I think it ended up taking about 15 minutes for me to get over the fact that there were so many choices and finally choose one.

Driving back to Columbia was interesting as well. I kept expecting to have to slow down for potholes and dirt roads, and I kept asking myself, "Where are the Africans walking along side the road?" While I can't say that I necessarily miss the potholes, I do miss the fact that you had to slow down and experience things a little more closely. I think there is something to that "African Time."

I hope that as I adjust back to life here, I will never forget where I was this summer. I hope that I will continue to recognize the difference between need and want and remember that what truly matters in this world does not come in a package and is not available only in the USA. I want to remember that what is truly important is making sure that others are okay and taken care of. And love is really the most important...

Adrenaline Rush: Part 2

After bungee jumping, we got ready to go white water rafting down the Nile. Several of us, including me, were nervous as we had heard stories of the rapids and had seen the rapids further up the Nile on the road to Gulu. I have been rafting many times before including an outward Bound experience in high school, but I was still nervous. The head guide gave us a talk before we loaded into the boats, and his talk was basically this: “Do not take anything that you want to lose. The water is rough.”
Once we got our life jackets, helmets, and paddles, we headed down to the boats already on the water. There were 10 boats in all: 8 boats of rafters and 2 supply/rescue boats. There were also 8 single kayakers; these were there to rescue us from the rapids and pull us to safety if needed. The IC group had 18 people rafting: some from Group 2 and then several IC members who work in Gulu, so we were split into two boats of 9 plus the guide. The guide in my boat was named Tutu, so we became known as Team Tutu. He had been guiding with the company since its inception 13 years before, and he had grown up on the Nile. His mode of transport to and from work was his kayak. He was awesome. The other members of Team Tutu included: Justine, Lance, Catherine, Bill, Tammy, Kate, Ryan, Nick and me. Tutu asked us if we wanted a mild or wild ride, and we all nervously looked at each other and replied, “Wild!” What were we thinking?!?!?
Once we got into the raft and on the Nile, Tutu began our training. We practiced paddling, getting down in the boat, and how to hold on. He then moved on to the bigger stuff. He told us that if someone fell out, the person sitting across from him was responsible for getting them back in the boat. I look across from me, and there sat Justine. Now, Justine is one of my favorite people in the world now, but she is maybe 100 pounds soaking wet; we looked at each other, and I just cracked up and made the suggestion that we trade places with someone else. I will admit that I had little faith that she would be able to pull me out of the water should I have fallen in. We practiced with her side first, so she fell into the water. I jumped over, grabbed her life jacket, and hauled her in. Then it was my turn. I fell into the water, swam to the boat, and she and I made eye contact. She grabbed my life jacket, I gave a kick, and the next thing I knew, I was in the boat!! I looked up at her in amazement and said, “You have got to be kidding me.” Just to make sure that I had not imagined what just happened, I made her pull me in again. Which she did with such ease; Justine is one bad mama… We then practiced what to do if the boat flips over as well as a couple other “what ifs”. Then we waited for the other boats to catch up. As all of this training was going on, we began going over smaller rapids. Once we cleared each one, I turned around and asked Tutu what class it was, and he mostly replied 1 or 2. I knew that these were smaller rapids, but it did not do much to calm my fears of the Class 5 that I knew we were approaching.
The first class 5 that we approached was difficult to see because in normal society, you would not call it a rapid; you would call it a waterfall. From our vantage point, it just looked like the river stopped flowing. Tutu gave the orders that we would paddle forward, turn the boat a little and then get down in the bottom of the boat and hold on. There was nervous excitement as we listened attentively, and then the rapids came. It was amazing and nerve wracking at the same time. With Tutu’s expertise, we made it through wet but still in the boat and no one lost. It really boosted our confidence, and afterward, we all did our trademark cheer of “TUTU”.
The next rapid was a Class 3, which made me feel a little better until Tutu said that we would flip in it. His advice throughout the day was to stay close to the boat and hold onto the rope attached to the raft. I am not going to lie when I say that it made me feel very nervous to be churned around while still holding on to a rope. As we neared this rapid, we stood up and waved to the video camera and then prepared. We paddled in, and the next thing I knew, the boat was capsizing toward me. I fell into the water and ended up in massive churning water underneath the boat. I tried several times to get away from the boat to no avail and began to panic a little as I was still underwater. Then I remembered Tutu’s advice to swim to the light. I had my eyes closed, and I remember for a brief second thinking, “I don’t want to open my eyes in the Nile and get some nasty infection.” At that point, I believe survival mode kicked in and opened my eyes for me. I found the light, kicked hard with everything I had and surfaced. The boat was upside down but right there, so I grabbed on and looked around. There were several others around me, and we all just looked at each other in amazed bewildered. I then noticed Tutu on top of the boat giving hand signals. He finally flipped the boat over, and I ended up still in the water but beside Kate. She looked at me and said, “Catherine’s hurt.” We finally climbed into the boat and were able to stop and look at the situation. Catherine was in the rescue boat being tended to; she had dislocated her shoulder. We got to the side of the river and sat. Her shoulder was still not in place, and the head guide was nervous to move it back into place in case it hit the nerve. The next move was to get the rescue vehicle to a place she could get out of the water and get her to the medical clinic. To do that, we all had to travel through another rapid, although Tutu said it was only a class 2. The rescue boat consisted of one rower with two long paddles; the head guide got one of the members from his boat to get in the rescue boat and brace Catherine so she didn’t move any more than necessary. And we headed into the rapid. I was amazed to watch the rescue boat navigate this rapid with no worries whatsoever. We all made it safely through and stopped again at the base of a small hill. They got Catherine out of the boat and were trying to get her up the rocks. All of a sudden, she lay face down on one of the bigger rocks, let her arm dangle over the side of it for a couple of seconds, and her arm popped back into the socket. I was in awe as I think most everyone else who saw this happen was. How cool was that!!! They placed a triangle sling on her arm and led her to the rescue vehicle. We were down to 8 in our boat and a little subdued because we were all worried about her as well as wondering who was going to get hurt next as there were still rapids to navigate.
Tutu snapped us out of it by declaring a free swim. We took off our helmets and jumped into the Nile. Tutu did a couple of flips off of the end of the boat, which prompted Ryan and several others to try. Needless to say, they did not have Tutu’s finesse. After about 15 minutes of free swim, we hopped back into the boat to prepare for the next class 5 rapid.
Tutu told us this was a pretty big rapid, and there was a good chance that we would flip. I replied to him that none of us wanted to flip or fall out of the boat. He said ok and that he had a Plan A, Plan, B, Plan C, and Plan D to prevent that from happening.
Plan A: Paddle hard.
Plan B: Make sure your life jacket is on tightly.
Plan C: If the boat tips up, do not lean.
Plan D: Hold on.
I told Tutu that I didn’t think he could technically call Plans B-D actual plans. Needless to say, I was not feeling too confident about what was coming up, especially when he said this rapid consisted of 4 large waves and a section nicknamed “the washing machine” that we did not want to fall into as there was no way for us to be rescued and that we would only get rescued once it had spit us out. He gave the order to paddle hard, and I did just that. I have never paddled so hard in my life. He then yelled, “Get down!”, and we all jumped to the bottom of the boat and held on. Words cannot express the feelings coursing through my body as we moved through this rapid; maybe because it was pure adrenaline. There were several moments that I felt the boat flipping, but it never did. We all made it through the rapid in the boat and relatively unharmed, and I give full credit to Tutu for making that happen. It was amazing!!! We were all stoked on the other side and high fiving each other and calling out, “TUTU!”. It was awesome.
There were several other rapids that we went through, and all were lots of fun. We then made our way to Lunch Island, a tiny island owned by Adrift where the rafters eat lunch. The lunch consisted of potato salad and sandwiches. You created your own sandwich, and the choices were incredible. We actually had real cheese, real deli meat and lots of fresh veggies. It was the best sandwich I have ever had (probably because it was the first one in 6 weeks). Once lunch was over, we headed across the Nile to the take out point. We walked to the truck waiting to take us back to Adrift, and while the boats and equipment were being loaded, we were handed beer to enjoy.
The day was amazing and exhausting at the same time. It was a phenomenal way to end our stay in Uganda.

Adrenaline Rush: Part 1

Sunday was a day of adrenaline. We woke up in Jinja and had a wonderful English breakfast. There were 10 of us who wanted to bungee jump over the Nile, so it was decided that 5 would go before white water rafting and 5 would go afterward. I was in the group who decided to go first as I wanted to do it and be done with it.
After breakfast, I paid my $55 and signed the waiver. One of the requirements of bungee jumping is that they have to know how much you weigh so they can adjust the tension in the bungee cord; you can imagine my horror at this concept because not only do they weigh you, but they write it down on the form that everyone signs and then write in on the back of your hand in permanent marker. The good news was that they weighed me in kilograms, so until I did the conversion, I was unsure how much I weighed (more good news… I did lose weight over the 6 weeks). Once your weight is tattooed on your hand, you can go out onto the crane over the Nile.
I was the second person to jump. When they are ready for you, you walk out to the platform and sit in what I can only describe as a chair used in electrocutions. There were two men out on the platform; one walks you through the process as the other begins preparing you for the jump by wrapping a towel and webbing around your ankles. This is tied very tightly; I now have bruises where this was because of how tight it was, but I am not complaining about that at all. Once this is tied, they attach the bungee cord to this. They asked if I wanted to touch the Nile, and I said, “Why not?”. He then mentioned that I needed to remember to prepare for being immersed by placing my hands above my head, tucking my head, and closing my eyes. All I could think was, “I am getting ready to jump off a perfectly good platform and free fall 140 feet, and you expect me to remember to tuck my head and close my eyes!?!?” I asked him if I should just fall forward or bend my knees and dive out. He said I could do either one, and it would be fine. He then asked which way I planned to go. I replied, “I have no idea. I guess I will find out when I get to the ledge.”
When I was all connected, one of the guys told me I was 100% safe. I asked him if he really believed that and he said yes. I replied, “Well, if you are wrong, then I am going to come back from the grave and haunt you.” This freaked him out a little as evidently he was very superstitious.
As soon as you are connected, they say you are safe to stand and move around. I hopped closer to the edge; this was very awkward as you really can’t move your legs since they are tied together. As I got closer to the edge, I crept and grabbed onto a yellow bar overhead. The other guy very gently begins talking you through the process; he has you look out across the ravine to an arrow on top of the bar at Adrift (never look down). I then waved to my friends. As I was waving and standing at the edge of the platform, my heart was pounding so hard, I felt like it was going to rip open my chest and just fly out. What have I gotten myself into? Why did I say I wanted to do this? Am I crazy?
I then released the yellow bar and slowly lowered my hands to my sides. He counted down… 3…2…1… I bent my knees, spread my arms out on either side and dove forward and out. OMG!! The dive was beautiful, I fell toward the Nile, and it was the coolest feeling in the world. Before I knew it, the cord tightened and pulled me back up; it didn’t hurt or jerk at all. I bounced gently up and down several times and then just began swinging back and forth. It was so beautiful to just swing over the Nile.
Once I slowed down, they began lowering the cord; there’s a boat with two guys in it, so I was lowered into that. It was probably the most difficult part as I was still swinging back and forth. Finally one of the guys held out his oar and told me to grab it. After several missed attempts (the handle is very skinny), I grabbed hold but kept swinging so I had to let go. I finally was able to grab it again and hold on to be lowered into the boat. As they were rowing me back to shore, we chatted for a couple of minutes. I asked them if they had ever jumped, and they both replied, “many times. When the cords need to be tested, we are the ones who do the testing.” He said it so nonchalantly, but I remember thinking what a crazy job description that would be. They paddled me over to the steps, and I walked back up. It’s a pretty steep walk back up; for the first part, I almost ran most of the way due to the adrenaline rush. That feeling ebbed about halfway up, so the rest of the ascent was a little difficult. However it was amazing, and when I am 90 and sitting in my rocker on the porch, I will look back on that experience and smile.

Leaving Gulu

Last night was our final night in Gulu. Mac, the new proprietor of Fugly’s (formerly Bambu) had a special dinner for us, which was really nice. We were able to all eat together, hang out and dance. Ob and Apolo were able to join us, making the night that much more special.
We left Gulu this morning for the last leg of our journey. We were supposed to leave Gulu at 8:00 am, but in typical Acoli fashion, we did not end up leaving until 9:45 am. Our goal was to stop in Kampala at the craft market one more time on our way to Jinja for white water rafting on the Nile. The drive was long; they have added new speed bumps to the road to Kampala, and there were speed bumps about every 20 feet for a couple of miles. The most ridiculous aspect of it was that it was not near any town; just in the middle of nowhere. Why would you need to slow down there?
We had to stop for a short call about half way through the trip. The girls went to one side and the boys to the other. We realized that we were very close to the road, so we girls created a barrier so people from the road would not be able to see us. As we started to go, about 4 children came walking out of the bush the other way curious about the munos. It was very awkward and yet hysterical at the same time. We finally made it to Jinja and the Adrift place where we are staying in tents. We bungee jump and raft tomorrow!!!

Last Day of Teaching

I finished teaching today at Sir Samuel Baker. The week was par for the course in terms of successes and frustrations. Grace teaches an 8:00 am class… I should say she has an 8:00 am class, but she is never on time. She will get there between 8:40 and 8:50 in the morning. Because of that, I have been working with those students on my own, which has been wonderful. However the point of this project is to work with the teacher.
Most of my frustrations have been systemic. This educational system is so different and seemingly ineffective. Students are taught and then expected to regurgitate the information; however the information is really unimportant when looking at the skills necessary to live a successful life. The teacher is also considered the expert, and any questioning is strongly discouraged. Yesterday morning, I was sitting in the teacher’s lounge, and Sharon’s partner teacher, Christine, came in and sat down beside me. I was a little confused as I thought that Sharon left for school before me, and she was not with Christine. Christine asked me, “Where is Sharon?” I replied that I was not sure as I thought she had arrived to teach. She said, “Yes, I am supposed to be teaching right now.” I asked her why she was not, and she replied, “I was not able to prepare a lesson.” I said, “So?”, and she replied, “At teacher’s college, they taught us that we should always consider ourselves the expert, and if we are not prepared to give a lesson, then we should not come to class.” I think she noticed my stunned face and continued by saying, “If we are not prepared, then we cannot be the expert in the classroom.” I said to her, “That is the exact opposite in the States. There are many classes that I have walked into without a formal lesson plan in mind, but I just wing it. For us, it is important to meet with the students whether we are truly well prepared or not.” I also told her that she was the expert simply because she was older than the kids and therefore had more life experience. However, I believe that all of this information went right out the window.
Until the educational system completely revamps itself and moves away from regurgitation of facts and moves towards critical and creative thinking, I don’t think it will create an educated society. But I wonder if this government wants an educated society because then the people may question its practices?
Today we actually continued with adjectives in S1, and to add some meaning to comparatives and superlatives, I had them write love poems. I began the lesson with Shakespeare’s Sonnet CXXX, but they had never heard of Shakespeare before, so it took some time to describe him and teach about his language. Then I had to read the poem aloud several times since there was no way to make copies and writing on the board would have taken too long. Once we discussed the poem, they were to think of someone they loved and the write 6 adjectives to describe that person. At that point, they were to create a comparative poem using those descriptions. Some wrote about their mother, father, sister, brother, Tupac, Lil’ Wayne, etc. Some also chose to write about me. One student used the following adjectives to describe me: smart, beautiful, early (I think he meant punctual), good teacher, tall and fat. I am not taking offense to the fat comment as in Uganda, it is seen as a huge compliment. It was very entertaining though. I hope that the students have liked the lessons that I have worked on. I realized through this exchange how important to me it is to provide some sort of real world connection. From what I have witness, students are not expected to make connections, so doing something as simple as writing a love poem to someone connects the use of adjectives to something as little more relevant. I hope that Grace will continue to use some of the strategies we did together, but I do not know.

Fort Patico

On Saturday, we went to Fort Patico, which is an hour outside of Gulu (actually the distance is probably only 20 miles, but the roads are so terrible that it takes forever). Fort Patico was where the Arabs ran their slave trade of Africans. Sir Samuel Baker came to Uganda, ended the slave trade and then set up a fort there. It is pretty much a bunch of enormous boulders, but the views are incredible. It was a bonding day with our teachers, so I got to meet Grace's youngest son Jacob and her sister Josephine. I also got to meet Okello P'layeng's son, Bill Clinton (not kidding). Jacob is precious but very shy. He finally warmed up to me at the end of the day, but I think he enjoyed watching me. We ate a picnic lunch of a Acoli food; I was helping to serve so I didn't get to eat much. Matt and Kate made homeade guacomole, which was delicious, so I ate that and chapatti chips. It makes me massively crave Mexican food and a large margarita.

After lunch, we went on a "hike." In the States, you would call this bouldering as we were climbing sheer faced boulders without any gear. It took us about 20 minutes of walking through the bush and a family's corn and cabbage fields before we made it to the bottom of the hike. I can see how people can easily get lost in the bush. The grass was so thick and way above our heads; it is very eassy to get disoriented. There were some local boys who helped us find out way; they were walking without shoes and then climbed to the top with no problem. When we finally reached the top, it was worth it. The views were breathtaking, and it was fun to sit and relax with everyone for a couple of minutes.

I began to worry about the trip down... did I mention the sheer rock face we climbed up? But I made it safely. I am going to write a letter to Keen and explain to them how amazing their shoes are; I think their grip saved me a couple of times. I came out of the hikes with several bruises, cut and scrapes, but no broken bones.

I think I am ready to bungee jump...

Rap is Universal

On Tuesday, July 14, I was at Sir Samuel Baker sitting outside between classes. Three small children (I would guess their ages between 3 and 6 years) were walking by and stopped to stare at me, which pretty much happens everywhere. I said to them, “Kop ango?” which means “How are you?” in Luo. They replied, “Kop peke”, which means, “I am fine.” One of the boys then said something to me in Luo, and I told him that I only knew a little Luo. They stared at me, so I said, “Are you coming home from school?”, and they replied, “yes.” I then said, “Did you learn a lot?”, and again they said “yes.” At this point, I felt that we had exhausted the conversation, and I turned around to leave. As I was doing this, the other little boy said, “Got my mind on my money…” I turned around, looked at him, and replied, “And my money on my mind.” They cracked up as did I. Who knew that rap would turn out to be a universal language?
Yesterday Obi and I went to lunch at Kope Café, which is one of my favorite places to eat here in Gulu. As we were standing outside Hotel Katherina’s and talking before we walked to the restaurant, he noticed all of the children walking by, stopping and staring at me. Several of them came up and stared until I spoke to them. I think at some point, Obi stopped listening to me because out of the blue, he asked, “Does this always happen to you?” I replied of course. I think for Obi, it is not as big a deal because he is Ugandan. It is only when he opens his mouth and a British accent comes out that people stop and stare because they really don’t know what to make of this Acoli man speaking in a different accent. There are definitely days when I get so tired of the staring. It is not malicious; they are just curious. Most of the time, it doesn’t bother me. It is what it is (this is my motto for Africa).

Winding down- Wednesday, July 15

I can’t believe I only have one and a half weeks left here in Gulu. The time has gone by so quickly, and I will be so sad to leave when it is time.
Grace and I have been working really well together. We are now focusing on the S1 students; we were also teaching S4, but the students stopped coming to class so they could study for their national exams. It doesn’t really make sense to me why students would stop coming to work with a teacher who could help them perform better, but that is Ugandan thought for you (or lack thereof). So we are back with the S1 students, and we have been working on adjectives. Grace works on giving the students the rules, and I then provide reinforcement through activities. Today I had the students choose an emotion (angry, happy, tired), and in groups, they had to act it out. The group had to guess the emotion and then write a sentence using it. We then looked at the sentence structure and discussed it. It took a while for the students to understand as they never do activities. Information is conveyed to them through lecture and copying notes. It is the idea of the student as a sponge who just sits there and soaks up the information instead of interacting. The teacher is seen as the authority figure and is never doubted, and there is rarely discussion. Consider that these students have been taught this way since primary school, and you could understand why they might think the American muno teacher seems a little crazy. So I literally have to set up the activity one step at a time. The other issue with this particular activity was that they had to demonstrate an emotion. These students rarely show emotion, and even when they do, it is very subtle. So to engage them and get buy in for this activity, I had to encourage them to be silly for a couple of minutes just to warm up. The great thing about teaching them is that once they understand the activity, they really enjoy it and become very involved. They also work in groups really well together and teach each other. And they love to get “high fives” from me.
This past Monday, several of us went to Bambu. Derek, the owner sold Bambu, they threw him a going away party. It was a lot of fun hanging out with other NGOs. We used our dinner coupon from winning trivia the week before to buy dinner. I ordered the fish fingers, which are the equivalent of fish sticks. Before I actually placed the order, I had to be reassured that there would not be any eyes looking at me nor any bones. Most of the time when you order fish here, you literally get the whole fish: face, skin, and bones included at no extra charge. I have to say it’s pretty disgusting. I never really thought of myself as a picky eater, but I am picky over here. I hope that it is because the food is SO different, and I will get over it when I return to the States.
I have to share something that I think is hysterical… One of the main roads that we take daily to Sir Samuel Baker is undergoing construction. It is a dirt road, and a couple of days ago, we noticed that there were work men digging at the ground in the middle of the road. I couldn’t figure out why they were making the road worse by adding more holes. When we returned from school, we were driving and turned onto this road only to have to slow down because they had put a skinny rope across the road. The idea is that it would prevent people from driving down it; however it is right at neck level and therefore is a prime opportunity to close line anyone on a bike or boda if they are not paying attention. The rope does not stop people from driving down the road; they just lift the rope up and go under it.
At the end of the work day Monday, they covered the holes with a log and some leaves. On Tuesday, they put telephone poles in these holes- now keep in mind that these holes are in the middle of the street. Well it turns out that they are poles that they will use to string electricity, but they are in the middle of the road and one pole is even in the middle of an intersection. It is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. I will try to get some pictures so you can enjoy it. My thought is if they want to improve the town, they should pave the roads first. The roads are completely ridiculous.
That is all for now. Let’s see what other adventures I can hunt up.

Safari

In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight… We headed to Murchison Falls Park, which is located in the northwestern part of Uganda and is southwest from Gulu. We left at 10:30 am on Saturday morning and proceeded to drive along the most ridiculous road… actually I would not even call it a road. It was a cleared area of potholes and massive crevices. Our driver, Dennis, insisted on driving about mock 4, so we were bouncing all over the place. It was the most ridiculous ride, and it lasted 3 hours. Wait, I take that back, it lasted 2 hours and 50 minutes; we rode on a paved road for about 10, which was absolute heaven. At one point, I looked at Lindsey, who is my mutatu partner, and said that I would rather walk and it take 9 hours to get there.
Murchison Falls Park used to be one of Africa’s best national parks; however in the 1960’s, poachers and military almost wiped out the animals. It is quickly making a comeback, and it is easy to understand the draw to this place. The landscape alone is absolutely breathtaking. When we arrived at the entrance, we were told that we still have an hour drive to get to the Nile and our boat tour. As we drove down another bumpy road, I was blown away by the vegetation and the sky. It just went on for miles; the yellow grasses gave way to green trees that gave way to bluish hills that gave way to a gorgeous blue sky and white cumulus clouds. It is scenes like those that confirm my belief in God and his power. That beauty cannot be done by accident. After driving about 20 minutes down this road, we began to see deer like creatures. Officially their names were Kob, Arribe, and Jackson Heart of Beast. They would prick their ears up as we drove by and every so often, they would prance away. Talk about graceful and beautiful to watch. We then saw Cape Buffalo, and while I would not describe them as beautiful, I would say they were impressive. We passed a mud hole, and one was submerged and covered in mud. They say it is to suffocate the ticks on its body, but it was hysterical to see.
Then the giraffes…Standing 20 yards (I think… I don’t really know distances) away from the road and absolutely breathtaking. If you looked at them with a critical eye, I guess that would not seem pretty. Let me tell you, they are majestic. When they move, it is with graceful fluidity, and even running, they seem like they have all of the time in the world. I could have stayed there and watched them all day. However we kept moving as we head to meet the boat for our Nile tour. Next we saw a herd of elephants. Again…wow. They were further away but still amazing.
We finally made it to the Nile. This section is called the Victoria Nile river, and it flows into Lake Albert. We waited about 15 minutes for the boat to arrive; once it did, we headed up river towards Murchison Falls. Our guide’s name Emmy, and he was very informative, especially about the birds, which I was not very interested in. We saw hippos first, and they were mostly submerged. He told us not to worry that we would see many more ahead. And he was right. As we moved farther up river, we saw pods of hippos, and they were beautiful. They look so peaceful just hanging out in the water, so it is hard to imagine that they can be pretty dangerous. We saw several baby hippos that were absolutely adorable. At one point, we saw a pod of about 15 hippos; something startled them, and they all jumped out of the water and began running. You would think because of their size, they would not be able to move very fast, but that is not true. These animals can move quickly both on land and in water. It was a sight to see. At one point, we saw a hippo in front of us in the water; he went below the surface. The next thing we know, he surfaces under our boat and nails us. All I could think was that he was going to capsize the boat, and I was going to be feeding the crocs. It was a little unnerving.
As the day drew on, it got closer to feeding time for the crocodiles, so they began to come into the water. All I can say is that these animals are scary. They are enormous; evidently Nile crocs are some of the biggest in the world. They are creepy, and it seems like they are skulking around the water. We saw a couple get close to a pod of hippos, and we thought there was going to be a rumble. They all submerged, so I have no idea what happened underwater, and I was not about to get in the Nile to find out.
We finally got to Murchison Falls, and it was gorgeous. The water that moves through there is super powerful, and it was so gorgeous. We hung out there for about 15 minutes taking pictures and just soaking it in. I sat there and took a deep breath and just looked. When I am back in America and caught up in the ridiculous details that make up my existence, I will remember that view and know to slow down and appreciate life.
For the boat ride back, I got down in the bottom of the boat, took two life jackets to use as pillows and fell asleep. It was heaven and one of my favorite moments- being in a boat on water. We arrived at our destination and picked up our mutatus to take us where we would be spending the night. We stayed at the Red Chili, where you sleep in tents. Sharon and I shared a tent for two, and it consists of two single beds and a table. I ate a dinner of chicken curry, which was delicious, wrote in my journal and went to sleep. Getting only 3 hours of sleep the night before finally caught up with me.
On Sunday, our departure for the morning game drive was 6:15 am. We piled back into the mutatu and headed back to the Nile to take the ferry across the river. It was a gorgeous sunrise, and yet again, I was so inspired by the beauty around me. Once we crossed the river, we met our guide, named Toban, who joined us in the mutatu. We began the drive by seeing baboons. Several of them had babies on their bellies, and the babies look nothing like the adult baboons. They look more like chimpanzees, so of course that started all kind of jokes referring to “baby daddies”. Once we got away from the baboons, we were able to climb onto the top of the mutatu. Those baboons are very grabby and will take things out of your hands and out of the mutatus. And the drive began. Again, words cannot describe the beauty of this land. We drove for 4 hours and saw many animals again. The only animal we did not see was lions, but the others more than made up for it. As I rode on top of the mutatu, all I could think of was, “I am in Africa looking at these amazing animals in their habitat. I am a fortunate person and am grateful to be alive.”
I wish everyone could come to Africa and see what I have seen. I think viewpoints would change immediately, and people would see that it not a place that should be ignored any longer. I hope you are able to read President Obama’s speech that he gave this week in Ghana. It really hits on Africa, and whether Americans want to admit it or not, we are connected to Africans here and should be concerned about their welfare. In the selfish sense, what happens in Africa affects America. Uganda is a country of absolute beauty in both its landscape and people. There are so many opportunities here now, and Ugandans are ready to grab them and make life better. I love this place and will be so sad when I leave.

I Love America

It is Friday, July 10, and I am grateful to not have to go into school today. I don't teach classes on Friday at SSB, which is nice because it allows me to relax, catch up on errands and just hang out. Ryan, Kate and I have been socializing every afternoon and sometimes well into the evenings. I think that maybe I shouldn't so much, but I am only here for a short time and want to experience everything possible. As the philosopher Jon Bon Jovi said, "I'll sleep when I'm dead."

We played trivia last night at Bamboo again, and the team that I was on won!!! We rocked it, and I don't mean to gloat, but I was the one who correctly named the scotch that is named after a tea cutter-- Cutty Sark (thanks for drinking alcohol, Dad)-- and the emporer who allowed Christianity to occur (I even knew that one over two history teachers!!). We had the choice of receiving 4 t-shirts or 4 meals from Bamboo; we all wanted the t-shirts, but they did not have any more. We were so bummed. However, according to legend, they have amazing banana pancakes, so I think we will go get those one morning.

We are going to MEND today for a tour. MEND is an IC project that is similar to the bracelet campaign. IC has found young females who were abducted by the LRA and either forced to be a child soldier or a child bride; most have had children from this experience. IC has trained them to sew, and so now they make handbags that are then sold around the US. Some of you may remember the purses from when IC roadies came to Ridge View last September. We are going to see their operation, which I am super excited about.

If you teach in the US, consider yourself fortunate. I know that you are probably snickering right now as you read this, but it is so true. To teach in this country can so completely frustrating. I am sure that part of it is because I am coming from America where the supplies and opportunities are endless, but at the same time, these teachers and students are at SUCH a disadvantage. The curriculum is ridiculous, the infrastructure is pitiful, and the supplies-- well there aren't really any except for chalk. I am amazed that teachers can have any success here, but they make it work. I promise that I will never again not appreciate my computer, my printer, the copier, the dry erase board, Staples or Office Depot, etc. American teachers and students are so lucky despite whatever issues they have. Any American has access to resources to make his or her life better; if they choose not to use them, well, that is another story. In Uganda as I am sure it is in other African countries, those resources are either non-existent or extremely limited. For all of America's problems, we are lucky to live there.

Besides, in America we have full toilets with seats you can actually sit on. If nothing else, love America for that.

Bumps in the Night: Wednesday, July 8

I have some down time between classes today, so I decided to bring my laptop with me and try to get something written down. It is Wednesday, July 8, and we are in our 3rd week at Sir Samuel Baker. I am working more in the classroom, which is great. In S1, we were finishing up Transitive and Intransitive Verbs, and now we are working on Adjectives. It seems to me that the students learns the same concepts each year, but as they move up in streams, a little more detail is given. Overall, I think it is ridiculous repetition and again does not foster creative thinking.
I think out of all of my frustrations with teaching here, the lack of critical thinking makes me the most insane. When I try to incorporate activities and games into the lesson to make it more interesting, I am shocked by how long it takes to explain what we are going to do. You have to break it down so much to help the students understand each point. Then you have to demonstrate because they have no skills to help visualize or conceptualize. I also feel bad for these students because out of everything they learn while in school, critical thinking would be the most important no matter what path they walk down in their life.
I see the lack of critical thinking in my daily life here. The boda bodas drivers have to physically be shown where to stop to let you off, the servers in our restaurants cannot bring out more than one order at a time and they get it wrong most of the time, etc. They do not seem to be able to synthesize information very well. I think part of this is due to the type of life they have had for the last 20 years. If you are concerned about whether you are going to live or die each day, nothing else really seems to matter. Hopefully as peace remains in the north, people will learn to think critically more than they are doing now.
Grace and I were to teach at 8:00 am this morning to S1 East. Grace was not on time, so I went ahead and started the class. She finally showed up at 8:40 am. As we were walking back to the classroom at the end of the class, she said that she had a hard time getting up this morning because she did not get very much sleep last night. I asked her why, and she said that someone tried to get into her house. She was able to chase them off and alert her neighbors, but no one was able to catch the person. As I listened to her, I thought about how in America that would be pretty scary, but here in Uganda, it must be terrifying. I would think that it would bring back the fear of the LRA returning. I am sure that thought ran through her mind, which led to her not being able to go back to sleep. It makes me believe that while most of the people are living normal lives now, at any moment, something could trigger them to remember the time of war or react based on that mindset. There are things in this world that I find scary, but in my normal life, the odds of me encountering them are very slim. Here it is a different story. In all seriousness, at any moment, the LRA or another rebel army that seems to be forming around Gulu, could pop back up and hurt the people. Here the bush comes right up to buildings, roads, and schools, so it would be easy for soldiers to sneak in and attack. I can understand why Grace did not get much sleep last night. I wonder if time is what it takes to get over that feeling.

Things I Love- Things I am Tired of

I think this will become another continuing list, but here is the start...

Things I Love:
- the beautiful landscapes of Uganda
- the smiles on the faces of children
- chapatti, a hard boiled egg, avocado and Top Up
- Group 2 of the IC Teacher Exchange
- Impromptu dance parties at Katherina’s
- Bell beer
- Seeing chickens running down the road
- Women carrying a baby on their back, a jerry can full of water on their head, and bags in each hand
- Kope Café and its “western” food
- The students at Sir Samuel Baker School
- Simone, our house kitten, who is taking care of our mouse problem





Things I am tired of:
- red dust EVERYWHERE
- immense amount of trash everywhere
- terrible 3 inch foam mattress
- African time
- Chalkboards and dust
- Brushing teeth with a water bottle
- Sitting side saddle on a boda boda because I am in a skirt
- Skirts
- Squatting over a hole in the ground
- Being stared at
- Body Odor
- Acholi food, except beans and rice

What's Going On?-- CNN and More

At dinner tonight (Sunday, July 5), we noticed that CNN was on the TV. The show was the State of the Union with some political analyst talking about the military. However, while the show was on, they had the “headlines” flashing at the bottom of the screen. I was enthralled by these headlines as for the last 3 weeks, I have had no knowledge of world events with the exception of Michael Jackson dying and Governor Sandford’s hypocritical liaisons (but that was only because of email from friends and family). I have read several days worth of Uganda papers, namely Daily Monitor and New Vision, but they focus solely on events in Uganda. There is not very much about the world. It makes sense because of the perspective of Ugandans. They tend to focus on the here and now and what is going on in their country. I think also that because of the government that maybe some news is filtered. I think also that because of the government that maybe some news is filtered. I do know that New Vision is government run, so its information is definitely skewed.
I am not sure how I feel about being so cut off from the rest of the world. On the one hand it has been really nice to live in a bubble where everything is alright with the world (in my mind). There are no wars, no governments treating their citizens poorly, no people infringing on the health and happiness of others, and no natural disasters. On the other hand, in 5 minutes of reading the headlines, I felt overwhelmed and saddened. I think it was simply because it was information overload, and most everything was negative (I think the only positive piece of information was that Costa Rica is considered the happiest country in the world). In the real world, I would receive this information a little at a time, and therefore have the capacity to process through it. Or at least, I would have tools easily accessible to learn more information about the headline.
I am sure that upon my return, I will feel overwhelmed on so many levels, and it will definitely take some time to readjust to the world that I live in. However, I don’t think I will ever be able to truly step back into it like nothing has changed. Seeing what I have seen and hearing the stories I have heard are already impacting my belief system and what I feel is truly important. Family and friends still remain top on my list, but I think that has only been reinforced by my trip to Uganda and witnessing the number of orphans taken in by family members. I would say that family and community are the most important things to Ugandans. My faith is also still a top priority. Faith to me means that there is always hope and good in the world, and I just can’t live with the idea that there is no hope. I feel sorry for people who are “half empty” in their view; I need to believe that even when things are bad that they can get better.
I would say that one thing that has changed is the importance that I place on my job. I love my job and feel grateful every day that I have this opportunity to work with students and hopefully help them along in their journey to becoming successful adults. But I feel that I add unnecessary stress to myself when dealing with certain aspects of it. I need to really imprint in my brain the saying, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” I struggle with the wisdom to know the difference part of that saying in relation to my job. My hope is that I remember my experience here in order to help me keep a healthy perspective next school year. Over the past school year, I have found myself saying, “it is what it is.” I need to take that saying to heart, do my job as best as I can, and then remember that at the end of the day, it is only that- a job.

The Fourth of July

4th of July… WOW, what a night!! Invisible Children threw a party for the 4th of July at the Acholi Inn. It was outside near the pool on the lawn, and it was such a beautiful night. The party started at 6:30, but about 6 of us headed to Da Pub for a pre-party drink. From there we took boda bodas to the Acholi Inn. The music started at 6:45 pm, and the dancing started at 6:50 pm. At some point, the food was ready so most people took a break from dancing to eat. They had something close to a hamburger, and it was absolute heaven. They also had “coleslaw”, fried zucchini, some type of burrito, and baked goods from Café Larem. Amy said that she ordered 300 beers, and we estimated that there were about 100 people there. The Acoli people are not drinkers at all, so there was plenty of beer to go around…we drank 12 crates of beer by 8:30.
Once everyone finished eating dinner, the dancing started again and did not stop. They played a mixture of American and Acoli music, heavy on the Michael Jackson. I think the DJ played “Billie Jean” 4 times, but we sure did enjoy it every time it played. My teacher Grace stayed there the entire night, and she tried to teach us the Rockarocka (not how it is spelled), a native Acoli dance where your hips move forward and back mostly. I feel like I got better as the night wore on, but I am not sure that an impartial observer would agree. About 9:00, the music stopped to allow a man dressed in a traditional marbled green tunic (think pajamas) to give a speech, which is something that Ugandans love to do. I asked who this man was as the entire group immediately got quiet to allow him to talk, and Lindsey said that it was Museveni, the president of Uganda. He was not, and we are not really sure who he is, but he did claim to have been the president of Uganda for 3 days. I will do some research on this mysterious man…. Research is complete; evidently he is the deputy of Gulu of their police force. We also met the owner of the Acoli Inn. The police deputy was very funny spending time with him. He wanted to do a toast but none of us had any drinks, so he ordered out, “Bring drinks to my friends. Who needs beers?” So we all got beer and toasted; I am not sure what the toast was about, but it did not matter. We were all among friends. We closed the Acoli Inn down and then looked for an after party.
We decided to head to Bamboo, so we started walking down pitch black roads with huge muddy potholes. About halfway there, Obie stopped in his car and told us to get in that he would take us. So Sharon and I got in the back seat with several other munos whom we did not know. We then found out that we were not going to Bamboo but were instead going to a party at “Creepy Guy’s” compound. We did not want to do that so we got out of the car. Then Catherine and several others got back in the car because they found out that Bamboo was closed. So we all piled into Obie’s car; there were 5 in the way back, 4 in the back seat and then Obie and another passenger. Creepy Guy’s compound ended being the US Navy Headquarters, so Creepy Guy was not so creepy any more, and his name is David. We hung out there; it was a very chill atmosphere as people were hanging out in the yard or in the house. They had a fire pit going, which is still weird for me as in South Carolina, you would never light a fire in July because of the heat.
We stayed there until about 3:00 am, and then Catherine, Bill, Kate, Sharon, Ryan, and I decided to head back to Katherina’s. Apolo agreed to drive us, and on our way, someone asked, “Anyone up for Havana’s?” Havanas is a local nightspot that has dancing. We decided to drive by to see if it was still open, and of course it was, so we stopped and went in. We were the only munos in the place, and with black lights every where, we really stuck out. However everyone there seemed to be into their own thing, so we got water and began dancing. Again. At this point, I think that I had danced about 7 hours. About 30 minutes later, Apolo got a text from Obie wondering where he was, and we all remembered that Apolo was supposed to drop us off and then go pick up the rest of the crew. Kate and Apolo left to go get them to bring them back. They took forever, and Ryan got tired of Havanas, so he left about 20 minutes later. Catherine, Bill, Sharon and I finally called it quits about 4:00 am, so we walked home. The streets were deserted, and it was so peaceful. I crashed into my bed about 4:15 am. This was one of my favorite July 4ths ever!!!!

BTW: Apolo brought the cake that he promised. It was decorated as an American flag and had so much icing on it!! It took forever for someone to find a knife, so I did what Dad always does and started scooping the icing onto my finger from the back of the cake. It was delicious and just the sweet that I needed.

Oh Oh, we're HALF WAY there, Oh Oh, Livin' on a Prayer

I am at the halfway point. I just can’t believe how quickly the time has gone by. I feel that this is both good and bad; good because I am looking forward to friends, family and toilet seats, and bad because I am truly having an amazing time.
We have been participating in the Invisible Children Teaching Conference. Yesterday the focus was on teacher empowerment. We discussed ways that the teachers can have control. I feel that the educational system in Uganda is not conducive to teaching and learning. Teachers are some of the lowest paid government employees in the nation and often they do not even make enough money to make ends meet. Some of them have to travel very long distances to get to and from work everyday; others are able to live in staff housing, but often it is substandard. They have a teacher union, but evidently it is not supportive of teachers. I think this has to do with the power of the current administration of Uganda. They have no control over the curriculum they teach and are judged only by test scores. Attendance of students is not compulsory, so students can come and go as they please. Spending time with these teachers demonstrate how fortunate teachers are in America. Yes, we do have our problems, but we can make a living and are taken care of. It has been so frustrating trying to teach without the access to supplies and technology that we take for granted in the US.
The second day was about student empowerment. This is a novel concept. One of the tragedies of this curriculum and this system of teaching is there is NO critical thinking. These kids are taught the information and then expected to regurgitate it. They are never asked why or how. It really is sad because there are many adults around this society who cannot think critically. I think it hurts them now that the area is in peace because they cannot think forward. Hopefully by encouraging these teachers to try new activities that focus on creativity and thinking, the students will begin to learn the critical thinking process.
After the conference, Sharon, Kate and I went to the market to shop. There is no such thing as instant gratification in retail therapy, but the process if pretty fun. You walk through the market, find the fabric that you like, and then take it to a seamstress and describe what piece of clothing you would like. So far I have bought a skirt, a blouse, and two button down shirts. Today I ordered a pair of baggy pants and a skirt. I am always a little nervous about what the final product will look like due to the language barrier, but it is so inexpensive that it ends up okay. The fabrics here are so awesome. Shopping here is a test of determination and patience.

White Ants that Fly

On Thursday, July 2, we celebrated Amy Cordileone’s birthday. She is the director of our Teacher Exchange and just an awesome person. We went to KSP first for a little while and then headed to Bamboo for trivia. It was one of those random nights that was so much fun. John Magee made a dance party mix for Amy’s birthday, but it would not play in the KSP cd player, so he brought it to Bamboo. It was one of the most random mixes of music ever, but it was hysterical. We danced and laughed and danced some more. Apolo and Obie were there as well. One of the “delicacies” here in Uganda is white ants. They are these huge ants with long white wings, and they fly all over the place. The Acoli catch them, take off the wings, and eat the bodies. Obie and I were discussing this, and he mentioned that I should try one. I said that I would if he would, and he said that he was allergic to them. After discussing this for about 10 minutes, we agreed that he would eat the wings and I would eat the body. We caught one and got ready to do it, and then Obie chickened out (thank goodness!!).
Apolo and I then discussed that he was bringing a cake for our 4th of July party on Saturday. I asked that the cake have twice as much icing on it as cake, which started an entirely new random conversation. Hopefully the icing will be awesome because they do not really have sweets here, and I have been craving something SWEET.

Pictures

I am sorry that I have not uploaded any pictures. The internet here is pretty slow, so it takes entirely too long to upload them, and since I have to pay for internet, well, I am not going to spend time on that. Please know that I am taking a ton of pictures and will have them to show upon my return. Thanks for understanding.

Boma and the Walk Home- Tuesday, June 30

Group 2 is tired of Acholi food. Let me just tell you that it gets old. The food is VERY different from American food, and most of us just reach a point at which we can eat no more. We decided to go to Boma, which is a restaurant in Gulu that serves Americanized food. It was delicious. There were 11 of us there, and 9 of us ordered the steak with French fries. However, they only had enough steaks for 8, so I volunteered to order something else. I ended up getting the spaghetti neopolitan, which is basically spaghetti with 6 pieces of vegetables and a little red sauce.
As usual, the food took a long time to come out, but as we were waiting, we noticed a LARGE group of high school munos come in. They were excited to see other munos and quickly surrounded our table peppering us with questions. They were a group from all over the US performing mission work in Kampala and Gulu. Our food finally came, and it was very good and a nice break from Acholi food from Katherina’s. We had a wonderful time as conversation with Group 2 is always amazing.
As we were walking back looking for boda bodas, we walked down a street headed towards town. Matt said he knew the way, so trusting that he had been here before, we followed him… right into a dead end. Keep in mind that it is pitch black dark as the power is out again. Fortunately I have started carrying my head lamp with me every where I go, so I was able to see where I was walking. We backtracked a little, and Wendy, another veteran, told us to follow her. She led us right into… the town dump. As we walked through mounds of trash, bad food, and God only knows what else, we cracked up completely because we realized that we were the stupid munos who were lost. We finally cleared the dump only to walk into… what can only be described as the Gulu ghetto. I don’t know who was more surprised: us or the neighborhood we were traipsing through. We finally recognized the back side of Café Larem, our Internet hangout, so at that point, we were able to make it home safely. I think that had I not been with the others, I would have freaked out completely. I told everyone we needed to act like zebras and stay close together so no one would be able to separate us and cull the herd. Looking back, I honestly don’t think that we were in any danger, but a dark night in northern Uganda, a war torn 3rd world country, and you get the picture.

Grace's Story

I asked Grace about her experience with the war today. She had many stories to share, and I was so grateful to hear some of them. I will share a couple of them here as I feel that it makes the impact of this horrible conflict much more real.
She was a student at Sacred Heart, which is a boarding school in Gulu. She said that on several occasions, the LRA would send letters to the school saying that they were coming on a certain day. One day as the students were returning from their dinner, the teachers told them to go back to their dorms and get their blanket only. They were not to take anything but their blanket with them. The teachers then ushered the students to the convent close to the school. They were then locked inside. However since the convent is multiple stories, they could look out the window and see the destruction that the LRA caused. They witnessed them burning huts and killing people. Grace said that this happened several times while she was at Sacred Heart.
As an adult, Grace lived with her family in a village outside of Gulu. This is very common in the Acholi culture. She was teaching at Gulu SS at the time. One night, they saw that the hut where her two aunts lived was on fire. The LRA had set the hut on fire and locked the door from the outside. Her two aunts and 3 small children (her cousins) burned to death in this fire. Two other children were able to escape. The LRA set fire to 5 other huts around Grace’s families’ hut. She said that her family survived by the grace of God only. When the LRA turned their backs, Grace’s family ran out of their hut and hid in the bush for the rest of the night.
The next morning, her father told her, “I am old and have lived my life. You are young so you must go to the city and be safe.” Grace left that day to go to Gulu. For a while she slept in the bus park on the ground. A little while later, she found a room to rent, and so she and her family would come and sleep in this room at night. When they woke up, Grace would go to Gulu SS to teach. She would then walk to her home in the village for dinner because that is where their food was, and then the family would commute back to the room in Gulu. Grace and her family did this for 5 years. She said that they would take turns sleeping so someone was always listening out. If they heard gunfire, they knew they were okay because they could tell where the action was. However it was when there was silence that they became very nervous as that meant that they did not know where the LRA was. She said that dogs barking was another sign that the LRA was near. Gunfire was an every day occurrence.
I simply cannot imagine the fear that would be a part of this life. To me, it shows an incredible amount of strength that the Acholi have in the fact that they have been witness to true atrocities, and yet they have recovered and maintained their hope and kindness for others. We as Americans cannot understand this. For us 9/11 was life changing, but it was a one time event. Dealing with the LRA has been a 20+ year nightmare for these people. At some point, you would think that this would affect them mentally and emotionally, and I am sure it has. I think it helps them to tell their stories and for others to be witnesses to this horror. For Grace, all I had to do was ask.

Midterms- Monday, June 29, 2009

We gave the S3 exam today after lunch. It consists of giving S3 East, S3 Middle, and S3 West at the same time. Each class is in a different room but they are all adjacent rooms. This exam was 9 pages long, and it consisted of reading comprehension, grammar, short answer and essay. Okello P’layeng took the pages of the exam into the classroom. The students then exited the class, lined up outside, and then as they entered, they grabbed each page of the exam and walked to their desks. We did this in each of the three classrooms. Some of the pages had not been photocopied correctly, so we had to redo them. At Ridge View, this would have been very easy. However we are in Uganda.
In order to photocopy a midterm, the teacher first turns in a handwritten version of it to two “secretaries.” They then type the midterm on an old typewriter. Once the midterm is typed, it is then photocopied by a hand-cranked mimeograph machine… yes, that’s right, a mimeograph machine. So to go back and re-copy a page of the midterm, we had to wait for the woman to get back to the “copy room”. Once she returned, she had to find the master page among many other master pages, feed it onto the mimeograph machine and then crank it out.
Once all of the students got all of the pages of the midterm, Okello P’layeng then went to look for a stapler; he then returned and we went around the room stapling the exam together. We then stood outside the classrooms walking into each one every so often. I guess they really trust that the students do not cheat. Whenever I looked in, they were absolutely silent and seemed to be really focused on their own exam. Each exam is allotted 2 hours.
It was a very interesting process. As Okello P’Layeng and I stood outside waiting, we talked about different things. One of his older brothers was a member of the Ugandan army and disappeared on a hunting exhibition. One of his younger brothers was abducted by the LRA when he was an S1 student. The last time Okello P’Layeng heard from him was in 1988. I think there are stories like this all over northern Uganda.

Foods that I am Craving

These are individual foods or a complete meal that I am craving while in Uganda. I am listing them by the day that I was craving them.

Sunday, June 28: BLT with home grown tomatoes and Mama’s homemade bread. Served with a dill pickle spear and salt and vinegar potato chips.

Thursday, July 2: Cheeseburger with lettuce, onions, pickles, and mustard

Saturday, July 4: Pimento cheese from The Fresh Market

Wednesday, July 8: Big green salad with LOTS of fresh veggies, beaufort stew

Rhino Sanctuary- Saturday, June 27

We traveled to the Rhino Sanctuary today. It was about a three hour trip southwest in a mutatu. We stopped twice: once for a short call and once for the driver to stretch and for us to be harassed by street vendors.
After Idi Amin was overthrown, many people came in and hunted the rhinos to extinction: either for a trophy or for their horns, which are highly coveted in parts of Asia. Several joint organizations have come together to create this sanctuary in order to repopulate the area with black and white rhinos. They hope to provide a place where the rhinos can be safe, have babies and then be released back into the wild. There are currently 6 rhinos at the sanctuary, and they are protected by guards 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It is a necessary thing, but I find it a little ridiculous that we live in a world where rhinos have to be protected ALL the time.
After unloading our stuff, we went and had lunch before the rhino walk. The lunch took forever to come out (not shocking in the least), but it was very yummy. It was spaghetti with meat and a little cheese on it. We then changed into clothing for walking through the bush. Once we were ready to go, we got back in the mutatus and drove for about 20 minutes through the bush. It was a very skinny “road” and very bumpy. As we were driving, we saw small deer, guinea fowl and lots of birds. We finally stopped and split into two groups. Our group was first, so we walked another 10 minutes through the bush. The guards stopped us, I looked up and we were about 20 feet from 3 enormous rhinos! We saw Taleo, the alpha male, and Kori and Bella, two females. The guard said that Taleo weighs about 250 tons; he was enormous! They were lying down when we arrived. We were able to get to about 10 feet from them, and the guards stopped us. To stand 10 feet away from rhinos without any sort of fencing was incredible. It was yet another moment that I thought, “I am in Africa standing 10 feet from rhinos! It doesn’t get any better than this.” We hung around for about 45 minutes just watching them, trying to surprise each other with grass blades and laughing at each other. We finally began walking back to the mutatus and drove back to the lodges.
For dinner, we had another delicious meal. It consisted of chicken that was actually edible. Normally, the chicken has been really tough. We theorize that it is because the chickens here are mobile; we see them walking around the town all of the time. When you compare them to American chickens who sit there all day, you could understand why the chicken here would be much tougher. It is to the point that I will not eat the chicken here anymore because I simply cannot chew it up.
After dinner, we learned to play Texas Hold ‘Em. We were trying to play with bottle caps, but we did not have enough. One of the people who works at the Rhino Sanctuary had actual poker chips, so we were able to actually bet and practice. It was fun to be able to relax and play. Good times…
Driving back was a lesson in how to remain calm in the event of possible death. Our driver seemed very intent on driving back as quickly as possible, and there were several “almost” head on collisions between us and big trucks. Add a rainstorm to this, and you can imagine my concern about my well being. I guess I should put more faith in the mutatu drivers since they have been doing it a lot longer, but it is still something to get used to. As we arrived back in Gulu, it was culture shock coming back. The town seemed so bustling and loud, and after being in a very quiet sanctuary, it was hard to come back to. When I arrived to Gulu from Kampala, I thought the city was so quiet and small. However that was not the case returning to it today. It’s amazing how your perspective can change so quickly through new experiences.

An English teacher teaches about the UN and ICC

I had the best experience today at SSB. Okello P’Layeng asked me to speak to his General Paper class which meets on Friday from 2:40-4:00 pm. This is a class for S5 and S6 students, and I think the purpose of it is to create discussion about different subjects. Okello told me he wanted me to speak on the United Nations and the ICC. Needless to say, I was a little concerned about this as I have a very limited knowledge of both entities. However, I really wanted a chance to get involved with the students, so I said okay.
I spent 1½ hours yesterday at Café Larem on the Internet researching the UN and ICC. I asked my fellow members of Group 2 for information and help. I wanted to share the information with the students but do it in a way that was interesting and thought provoking. So I took notes and prepared the lesson that included working in pairs and groups.
I arrived at SSB at 2:00 pm, and Okello P’Layeng was no where to be found. At 2:40, one of the other teachers walked me to the biology lab. It was on this walk that I was told that this class was the S5 and S6 streams combined, which meant that could be almost 200 students in the class. They hold the class in the Biology Lab because it is so big. Okello P’Layeng never showed up, but one of the student teachers named Patrick sat in there with me. I think he sat in there more to hear the information than to help with the class.
There were about 75 students in the class, and they were all taller than me by a lot. These young men (because they are no longer boys) were very intimidating, but I felt up to the challenge. We started out with me having them brainstorm what they knew about the United Nations in pairs. Then I had 6 volunteers write what they had thought of on the chalkboard. Mostly what they wrote was very basic information including when it began and what its purpose was. They seemed to not know the specifics of the Security Council, nor did they know anything about the ICC (International Criminal Court). We talked about the 5 permanent member states and how they came to be permanent members and then the 10 rotating member states; I asked them to name one of the rotating member states, and they could not. I then wrote “Uganda” on the board and asked them if they had ever heard of this country. They laughed very loudly, and I explained that Uganda was currently serving on the Security Council in its two year term. I also discussed the ICC with them, mentioned the two current cases in front of the ICC as well as the fact that the ICC had issued arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and 4 of his top commanders in 2005. Once we had discussed this information, we began the discussion. I wanted to discuss the following questions with this group:
- Is the UN living up to its mission? Why or why not?
- Is the ICC doing enough to capture Joseph Kony?
- What happens if countries do not follow the guidelines set up by the UN?
- What do you think of the veto process in the Security Council? Does it create an effective form of governing?
- Are the UN security forces effective in providing or keeping peace? Should their role change?
These students were amazing. They actually brought up many of these questions for discussion themselves and asked what I thought. I turned it around to them and asked them what they thought. Their answers were so provoking and mature that I forgot I was speaking to the teenagers. They were very opinionated on what should be done by the ICC in connection to Joseph Kony. They definitely felt that the ICC is not doing enough. Those who spoke felt that if the ICC was going to issue arrest warrants, then they should have the UN security forces go in and get him. That discussion then naturally led into the role of the UN security forces as peacekeeping and not “peacemaking.”
We also discussed how they had been affected by this war, and I mentioned the fact that they were born into it and knew nothing else. We also discussed the idea of war, and if a war is occurring, if that means that the rights of those humans no longer becomes a concern. They firmly believe that until Joseph Kony is caught, they are not completely safe. They also felt that Kony will not come out of the bush until there is a new Ugandan president because Kony is scared of Musaveni. They believe that government must change the situation.
We finished the discussion by me saying that I believed that the true method of change was through them. They needed to continue their education and move into jobs where they could influence the change. I ended with the idea that they are the hope of Uganda.
I walked out of this class floating on air. Several students stopped me again to thank me for teaching them. To see 75 teenage boys in a hot classroom engaged in a discussion about the UN was a bright spot in my trip. It was yet another example of the beauty of this country and the hope that permeates through the people. I am so grateful to be witness to it for 6 weeks.

Random Thoughts

Today (Thursday) I really helped Grace teach Sentence Inversions. I have to say that before this week, I had no idea what sentence inversions were; however after listening to Grace’s lesson, I felt able to create a fun exercise around it. I taught the exercise today to two S4 classes. The first class was a little slower than the 2nd class, but they completed it and seemed to understand the concepts. After teaching the second class, I had about 6 students thank me for teaching them today, and one even said that he really enjoyed the lesson. It made my heart smile. These students are so appreciative of what I have to offer. Grace was also very grateful as she said that I had shown her a new way of getting a concept across. So I am feeling really good right about now.
As I was walking away from Sir Samuel Baker School (SSB), I took a moment to recognize the fact that I am in Africa. It is a breathtakingly beautiful country, and I am so grateful to share my time here and learn with these people. They continue to amaze me every day with their kindness and positive attitudes. If Americans had this same kind of drive and hope, we would live in a very different, and much better, country. I am sure that by the time I leave that I will have taught only a little. However I will have learned so much about character, resilience, and love. I feel truly honored to be in the presence of the Ugandan people.

Living in Gulu

Living in Gulu is a culture shock, but so far, I am handling it pretty well. The roads are terrible; riding on a boda boda is like going through an obstacle course. The driver has to find the smoothest route around pot holes, crevices that are 1-2 feet deep and huge rocks. There are a few paved roads in Gulu, but they are not paved really well. The edges on either side of the road are breaking away and along with the huge potholes makes the paved roads not much of a better option.
The showers are cold, but after my morning runs, it actually feels good and cools me down quicker. The water pressure is so-so, and I am not really sure that I get my hair completely clean. Shaving legs is impossible; I finally just filled a bucket of water and shaved in the courtyard the other day. When using the bathroom, you either make a short call or a long call. A short call is just peeing, and a long call is… well, you can figure it out. We have designated pit latrines for short calls and long calls, which cuts down on the smell. We have become one big happy family in Group 2. There is nothing that does not get talked about.
We have been without electricity for two days. It really is not a big deal as the courtyard is open air and we don’t need light at night. However in terms of charging things, that does put a little damper on it. It’s amazing what you learn to live without. I know when I return that I will be very grateful for toilets that have seats and showers with water pressure.
I am a novelty here. Not only am I white, but I have blond hair. Children love shouting “muno” or “mzungo” as I walk by, and they love to just stare. By the end of this trip, I will have the best self esteem or the thickest skin from being an oddity.
I rode on a bicycle today side saddle, which was very awkward and uncomfortable. Quickly a boda came along, and saved me from this embarrassing situation.

Beginning of School

We started at our schools on Monday. I am at Sir Samuel Baker Secondary School, which is about a 15 minute boda boda ride out of town. Between the two teachers that I am working with, I have a full schedule, which is good because it will keep me busy. On Monday and Tuesday, I sat and observed. It was so BORING!! Their main teaching method is called “chalk and talk,” which means they stand at the chalkboard and lecture. It explains why this teacher exchange is so important; we are here to share alternative teaching methods that they can then use in their classrooms. That is what the “exchange” is all about. It is an exchange of ideas to help the Gulu educational system.
I have made some observations about education; however, my only perspective at this point is Sir Samuel Baker.
The classroom is very basic: it has a desk attached to a bench that sit 2-4 students and a chalkboard. That is all. Because of the push for math and science, each child gets his/her own textbook to keep in those subjects. However in English, 3 streams (or classes which equals about 120 students) share about 25 books. The students stay in class, and the teachers rotate. The class schedule is set up like a college schedule; classes meet 2-3 times per week for either 40 or 80 minutes. The teachers literally teach to the test (national examination).
Teachers check work by using a red pen. They give a check if the answer is correct; the checks do not mean anything, but the students LOVE them. The only grades that they receive are the midterm and final grade. The students here are so different in terms of behavior. Grace said today that she thought the students were bad; I was shocked and told her that I thought they were great compared to American students. They remain on task, and even when finished, they sit silently or help their classmate. They are sweet, polite, and so interested in learning. The classes get smaller as the streams get higher; some students stop coming, some have other obligations, etc.
The bell that rings sounds like a dinner bell, and it is only a suggestion. Teachers don’t necessarily begin or end class on time. If a student is late, he knocks on the door, and asks “Madam (or Sir), may I come in?”
The student’s education is truly up to him/her. They are responsible for getting and learning the material. If they do not complete the work or pass the test, the teacher is not necessarily criticized. This attitude is so refreshing and so different from the American attitude where the children can do no wrong.
On Wednesday, I finally got to get up in front of a class. In S4M (Stream 4 Middle- roughly 10th grade), we are working on If clauses and sentence inversion. It is so boring, and I was really trying to figure a way to liven it up. Grace began the lesson by reviewing the rules and corrections from their homework, and then she let me take over. I created a group exercise where they got to be a little creative and practice at the same time. The students really enjoyed it and got the lesson at the same time. I was so pumped at the end, and it makes me so excited to continue working with Grace and these students.

Visiting around Gulu- Sunday, June 21, 2009

On Sunday, I got up to go to church. My hope is to visit several different churches in the area over the course of my stay. We went to Watoko Church, which was started by two western mzungus. Needless to say, the service was very western. I felt like I was in a contemporary service in America with the exception being that there were no children running around here. The sermon was great though, and I really enjoyed going with friends.

In the afternoon, we went to St. Jude’s Orphanage to visit and play with the children. There were 92 children currently ranging in age from 2 weeks to 17 years old. The children were adorable and very loving. I figure that they are starved for physical attention. One child who was about 3 latched onto me; he ultimately fell asleep in my arms, and then Filda, the head of the orphanage, finally took him. Uganda is very protective of its children. Parents can leave their children at the orphanage until they can take care of them again. However several of the new babies were orphaned because their mothers died during childbirth or shortly after. Several babies and children were HIV+; they also take in disabled children, so we spent a little time with them as well. It was so sad to leave the place. However the children were laughing and dancing, which shows me how resilient they can be.

We had the most amazing dinner. Amy, the head of the program, met this family who had to flee the country during Idi Amin’s reign in the 1970’s. They returned for good three years ago and have reclaimed their farm. It is on the outskirts of Gulu, so we took a mutatu, which is a glorified VW van with many seats. We met Tom, the husband, and Rose, the wife and two of their eight children, Obi and Apollo. They live on an amazing farm; the land actually reminds me of Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Illinois. It was so beautiful!! We sat outside in the yard and listened to Tom talk about his experience growing up in Uganda. Much of his family was killed, so he and several members fled to Tanzania. That is where he met Rose. They returned briefly to Uganda after Idi Amin but then fled again (this time to the UK) once Alice Lakwena and Joseph Kony began causing trouble. That is where they remained from 1982 to 2007 when they returned and rebuilt their house. The dinner was delicious; Rose had salad (yah to fresh veggies!!), steak, fried fish, potato salad, fresh fruit, etc. Rose owns Country Bakery in Gulu. Obi is working on creating a honey industry here in Gulu so they don’t have to process the honey elsewhere, and Apollo just took a job with Athletes in Africa. They were so hospitable and so welcoming. The experience was my favorite so far.

New Experiences

There are so many events and thoughts that I want to share, but I fear that it is impossible to fully convey them in a way that embodies the full experience. I feel that words will limit the power of the moment, but I will try my best.
Last night (Friday, June 19), we met our teachers at the Churchill Inn, a wonderful restaurant and hotel on the outskirts of Gulu. We walked there, and it was interesting to watch the reaction of the townspeople as 20 munos (white people) walked along the streets. Hopefully we will never stick out like that again. The tables were set out in the courtyard; once the sun went down, the stars came out, and the sky here is so beautiful since there are no lights to dim their brightness.
I am partnered with two teachers. Ilama Grace, who has been teaching for 14 years. She is not married but has two children, Bruno and Jacob. Bruno lives with her sister in Kampala so he can attend school there, and Jacob lives with her mother and her father near Gulu. The other teacher is Okello Palango, who has been teaching for 20 years. He has taught at the primary school, both levels of secondary, university and the teacher’s college. He is a character! He has 4 wives and 12 children; his father was an only child and told him to go and spread his clan. He believes that Lwo was the original language and that every language since is derived from Lwo. He actually sounds like the father in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, stating that every word comes from a Lwo word. For example, he said that “Aramaic” comes from the Lwo word “aram”, which means “corruption.” I could go on and on about this guy. I think that they are two different people, so the teaching experience will be very interesting. Ilama Grace teaches S1 (roughly 7th grade) and S4 (roughly 10th grade), and Okello Palango teaches S3 (roughly 9th grade).
Today (Saturday, June 20) we headed out to Sir Samuel Baker Secondary School where we will be for the next 5 weeks. We were to meet our teachers at 9:30 am, but none of them were even close to being on time. There is American time, and there is African time. At the school, they were holding the Handover Ceremony where the old prefects turn over the power to the new prefects. This was really cool! It was to start at 8:00 am, but when we talked in at 10:30, they still had not begun. We sat at the head table and were introduced and welcomed many times. For the entertainment portion, one or two students would get up with the microphone and lip sync to an American song. Rap was the most popular music to lip sync, but several students also chose some songs from the Latin invasion in the 1990’s. It was hysterical. The ceremony started around 11:00, and there were several speeches from the outgoing head UNSA (Ugandan National Students’ Association) and the outgoing head prefect. These two students were so well spoken, and their speeches were mostly about the success throughout the year, some of the failures, and the expectations of the next year’s prefects. The UNSA prefect began his speech by stating, “Do what you can to avoid what you cannot.” I love that!!! After these speeches, it was time for the “changing of the guard.” The outgoing prefect, the incoming prefect, and the guest of the incoming prefect came to the front of the hall. Holding the Holy Bible above his head, he recited the pledge to uphold the standards of the prefect system. Then the two prefects walked to opposite sides of the hall; they then walked to each other in the middle, and the outgoing prefect handed over his notebook to the incoming prefect. They either shook hands or hugged. It was really neat to watch and to be invited to attend. Next we heard speeches from the headmaster and the Chief Guest, who was the head of the PTA. One statement by the Headmaster that stood out to me was “hunger in dignity is better than bread eaten in slavery.” I think this sums up the attitude of the Acoli; they are very proud of who they are but not at all in an arrogant way. They simply want to live their lives and know peace. After each speech, the crowd applauded by tapping their foot on the ground. At one point, the emcee asked for “an enormous hand clap.” This enormous hand clap could only be described as a polite applause in America.
The ceremony ended at 1:15 pm, and then lunch was served. Because it was a big event, there was a buffet, which included white rice, millet (which is the consistency of brown silly puddy), goat stew (which had every single piece of the goat inside it), chicken stew (again, every single piece of chicken) and hot cabbage slaw (absolutely delicious). Close to the food serving table, two students held a pitcher of water and a basin for me to wash my hands. I wondered besides the obvious why this was so important. I quickly found out when I sat back down and realized that there was no silverware to use. In most places, they eat with their hands. So at least for lunch, I will be eating beans and posho with my hands every day. Good times…
After lunch, Sharon, Kate and I had to use the restroom, so we were guided to the pit latrine by one of the teachers. He walked us most of the way and then said, “it is just there behind that building.” Behind the building were 4 doors: 2 that led into showers and 2 that led into pit latrines. This trip to the pit latrines was the worst experience yet!!! There was one working pit latrine; the other had a lock on it (I guess it just got too disgusting to use). The pit latrine was full of flies and other bugs (could have been maggots?) because there were two pieces of poop laying on the back of the hole. And the smell… words cannot describe how horrendous it was. I tried to go in, but immediately began gagging. Sharon finally gave up and went to the shower to pee. Kate grabbed a long branch and pushed the two pieces of poop into the latrine. Once she did that, a lot of the mosquitoes lost interest. I took 3 deep breaths and went in although I did leave the door cracked and made Kate stand it front of it. It was a rough experience, but I got the job done. As we left the area, we realized that the teachers who had shown us the way were watching us the while time. They said, “We think you have fear.” We replied that we needed to just get used to it, which I think we will. Needless to say, I will live to be 110 and never forget that experience.
After lunch, we met the headmaster, named Norbert Oola, and he took us to his office. He spoke to us about the history of Sir Samuel Baker and how the war had affected it. Sir Samuel Baker opened in 1952 and has been a boarding school for boys. The school closed from 1988 to 1990 because the fighting was all around the school and not safe for the school. In 1995, 25 boys were abducted by the LRA in the middle of the night from one wing of the dormitory. 6 boys have still not returned. After the abduction, the boys would take turns sleeping in order to protect each other. Today during the ceremony, the dormitory prefects were thanked by saying, “You brought us to the light of the day.” After the abductions, the military stayed at the school until 2007 when the soldiers were removed. At that time, the school reverted to a boarding school. I would really love to spend some more time with him as I imagine his life has been remarkable.
I met with Grace for about 10 minutes as we were leaving, and she shared her school schedule with me. I am becoming more comfortable with her, so I think it will be a great experience. We begin Monday…

Toilet Paper

For those of you counting, I believe that I started with 15 rolls of travel toilet paper. At this point, subtract one.

Monday, June 29: Subtract another roll. I am down to 13.

Friday, July 3: Subtract another roll. Now 12.

Friday, July 10: Subtract two more rolls. One for actual toilet paper use and one because several of us have runny noses (we think from the dust and chalk). Now 10.

Learning the Ways of the Acoli- Thursday, June 18

Our orientation began yesterday morning, and it has been jam packed full of information. We first met with Jolly, the country director for Invisible Children. For those of you who have seen the IC Roughcut, you know her as the woman who got it all started or as the woman who can open a Coke bottle with her teeth. Let me just say that in person, she does not disappoint. She has a very calming presence, but underneath you realize that she is a woman of steel and determined to make life better for the Acoli people. We also met Jared and Erica from Invisible Children. All three were very informative about IC Uganda and their goals here in Gulu and the surrounding areas. Some interesting factoids that we learned from Jolly:
Ugandan teachers are the lowest paid government employees in the country.
The brother of the Ugandan president tried to bribed the three filmmakers not to show the documentary.
The S4S partner schools here in Gulu have to invest 5% of the cost of the projects that IC does at their school. IC figures that it will take 5% each year to maintain the infrastructure once it is built, and that is up to the school.
The people of Gulu believe they will only have true peace once Joseph Kony is killed or arrested.

Our second session was with Balaam, one of the IC mentors. He spoke with us about the Lwo language, which is spoken by most of the people in Gulu. It was an interesting lesson and very overwhelming because their language is very different from ours. Their alphabet does not have the letters f, h, q, s, v, x and z, so the way that a word is spelled is not usually the way that it is pronounced. The meaning of the word can also change based on the intonation. For example, “apwoyo”, which is pronounced “afoyo” can mean “Thank you” or “rabbit” depending on how you pronounce it. I am pretty sure that I have been calling people “rabbit” all day when I wanted to thank them. The beauty of this country is that the people are so friendly and hospitable that they just go with it.

After lunch, we met with Walter, the headmaster of Pabo Secondary School, one of the schools in an IDP camp. He spoke with us about the customs and culture of Uganda. Some interesting points from him:
Shaking hands is very big here. It is their way of reinforcing the greeting and the pleasure or either meeting or seeing you. Hugging is not as it leads to the sex.
The Acoli are arable farmers; the soil in northern Uganda is the most fertile soil in the country. They demonstrate affection by feeding you.
They live in “clans” and eat together. Most often they will all eat from the same dish. You simply wash your hands and dig in.

Today, we were introduced to Jennifer, the head of education at IC Uganda. She spoke with us about the educational system in Uganda and also about the war and its effects on the people of Gulu. Some interesting facts from her:
Educational System:
The students attend primary school for 7 years, lower secondary school for 4 years, higher secondary for 2 years and then possibly 3 years of university. At the end of each school they sit for the national exam. This determines whether they move to the next level. The same national exam is taken by every student in the Ugandan school system.
Their school year begins in February and consists of 3 terms, and each term in 3 months long. They then have a month off. They sit for their exams in October to December.
Attendance is not compulsory; a teacher could have a range of ages in one stream (level).
The government does not often provide enough teachers for a school. Most of the time, the PTA (yes, the same one as in the states) will step in and pay for more teachers or supplement the salaries of those already there.
As a government teacher, you have no control over where you teach. Once you have taught in the same school for 10 years, you are automatically moved somewhere else. The government figures you have no more ideas to share with that school, so you must move to a new school to share your ideas.

War:
Joseph Kony believed that the Acoli (of which is he a member) were all evil and the best thing to do was to kill them. He felt he could “save” the children by abducting them and teaching them a new way of life.
Lots of atrocities occurred. To prevent people from exposing the whereabouts of the LRA, the soldiers would literally padlock their lips shut. They would also cut off lips, ears, noses, legs so they couldn’t run, etc.
Villages were destroyed. People who survived these attacks were told to take the dead people, cut them up into small pieces, cook them and then eat them. By the time the survivors had cooked the remains of the dead, the LRA would shoot them.
People were forced into IDP camps by the government. If the people were hesitant to leave their homes, the government soldiers would burn them down so the people no longer had an option. Because they were forced to move, they had to leave their land and could no longer farm, forcing them to become dependent on handouts- something the Acoli people are very against.
They have had relative peace now for 2 years, but the recovery has been slow, and they are not quite at ease yet.

The Gulu people are some of the most beautiful people I have ever seen in my life. I mean this in the physical sense and the emotional sense. The women are tall, slender but muscular, and they have such a regal walk. The men are tall, built and just beautiful. They smile, and the world becomes a little bit brighter. They are also so friendly and happy to have us here. Everyone speaks and wants to know more about you. They smile, laugh and help me with my terrible butchering of their language. We are often called “muno” or “mzungu,” which means “white person.” The children will yell it at you and say hello. And they stare in a very curious way. I find them so beautiful that often I stare back. I enjoy walking through the town and interacting with them. I feel very safe here (don’t worry, Dad, I am being careful and never by myself).

One last thing I will talk about. The main form of “public transportation” is called the boda boda, which is a motorcycle or dirt bike. I took my first ride yesterday, which was fun but a little nerve wracking. The roads here are truly terrible; most are dirt, there are HUGE potholes, dips, etc. The boda drivers are very good though and know exactly how to go to avoid the bad spots. One more thing about riding a boda boda: When wearing a skirt, women must ride side saddle. I tried this today for the first time even though I have been wearing capris because I figured I had to get used to it. Riding side saddle is a whole different experience because your center of gravity is completely different. You hold on with your left hand to the back handle (you NEVER touch the driver!) and place your bag in your lap. I am gaining confidence in this and figure since I will riding one to and from Sir Samuel Baker every day that by the end of this trip, I will be ready for my own motorcycle (Just kidding!!).